The Top Five July 4th Movies

5 - Transformers

4 - The Great Escape

3 - Independence Day

2 - Back to the Future

1 - Terminator 2

Because even the film for which we're making this list isn't technically a July 4th release (Thanks, Hancock), we had to adjust it ever so slightly and incorporate movies released on the July 4th weekend. So, essentially, July 2nd - July 6th is in our sights, because July 4th would fall somewhere within that weekend. Strangely, July 4th is on a Friday this year and the big movie opened two days early. And I don't think that's a terribly smart move.

Broadening the topic certainly helps us fill some gaps, although one of the great movies of all time - one nobody even nominated - is a July 4th release. We got a lot of the same nominees but also movies like Armageddon, Men in Black II, Big Trouble in Little China, Shaft, Sergeant York, Strangers on a Train, The Green Berets, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Die Hard 2, Coming to America, and Boyz N the Hood.

We're also leaving out A Fish Called Wanda and Little Miss Sunshine because they don't really "fit the model" in this instance.

Also, Airplane! and Apollo XIII, which received nearly as many votes as the top two or three suggestions, were released in the last week of June. If I counted them both, I'd have to consider every movie through July 11th. What's the point?

In the end, both the quality and the thematic appropriateness for the Top Five films shaped most of our list. We liked an epic crop, popcorn movies to the Nth degree, and really, they're all very good films, too.

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I have a feeling I'm going to be inundated with nominations for next week's poll, not so much because of the category but because of the prize. We're giving away passes to see The Dark Knight at The Big Picture Premiere here in Phoenix. So, naturally, if you don't live around here, tough luck.

The rules are going to be a little different this time around, because this is the most anticipated movie since probably the last Star Wars flick and we only have a few pairs to hand out. So, you'll submit your votes as you always do, from that list, we'll draw ten random qualifiers on Thursday, July 10th.

On the morning of July 11th, we'll send out a list of some Dark Knight trivia questions. They won't be hard; any Batman fan can get all ten very easily. Here's the catch: The first five qualifiers who respond win the tickets. (*If somebody completely whiffs on the trivia, a sixth responder will take their place). I know that's a lot to take in, but hey, it's The Dark Knight. Lay off.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. What list do we need help with? Well, because we'll be doing two weeks of Dark Knight-themed Top Fives, we're going to start with The Joker and ask you for the Top Five Villainous Portrayals in movie history. For example, even though there's not really even a protagonist in There Will Be Blood, Daniel Day-Lewis is clearly the bad guy. Also, Javier Bardem was a nasty character last year. We're expecting that Heath Ledger would bump his way on to this list eventually, so let's see how it shapes up before someone makes room for him.

Put your list together and e-mail us your votes by Thursday, July 10th at 11pm Pacific. And good luck.